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Kivuli padded along side Maua as they made their way away from the pridelands. They had some important things to discuss and while he was fine with talking about it around all the others Maua had insisted on talking in complete privacy. A smile crossed his maw as she asked him if he thought they had gone far enough. "Relax my love, I'm sure we have gone plenty far." He told her while sitting back on his haunches. "You know we could have discussed this back there...we're are likely not the only ones thinking these things over."

He shook out his thick purple mane and let out a yawn. Kivuli was always the more relaxed of the pair, where as Maua, well she needed to relax some days. He turned his head to look in the direction that they had come from, there had been no sign of anyone following them since they had left their home. And he doubted anyone would try. They did take walks quite often that never aroused any suspicion so why would it on this day.

Kivuli shook his head slightly, Maua always seemed to worry to much...and she also thought he worried too little. It was a battle of wills sometimes between the two of them when it came to subjects like this. Kivuli knew full well that he could not be relaxed about his position, it was based on not only your efforts but how much purple you had on your hide. He was short on the purple side of things but that wouldn't stop him from pursuing a higher rank. This was all something he had thought about since he was a young cub, but Maua seemed to make a much bigger deal out of it then he did.

"Our noble friends have been openly discussing their decisions within the pride." He pointed out to her calmly. "And I am fully well aware that showing any signs of leaving, or weakness for that matter, can result in me not being able to turn my backs on any of them. I grew up in the pride just like you did Maua, I know how vicious the nobles can be when you have something they want."

"Foolish creatures perhaps, or they could very well be discussing things opening in hopes of getting others to do the same only to gain their knowledge. It it actually quite smart to do it that way. They will learn what the others wish to do and can use that information for their own benefit." Kivuli paused, well he had just agreed with Maua and in effect rendered his previous statement null and void. The idea of that almost made him chuckle, but doing so would only bring out Maua's anger more.

He nodded his head, mane shaking as he did so. "I remember his tyranny well. And we cannot know whether our new King will follow in his fathers foot steps, that is something that we will find out in time." He noted the fear in her voice and nuzzled her softly. "I will never let anything happen to you, you have my word on that. No matter what we decide I will keep you safe." He fell silent for a few moments, tail flicking around in thought. "Though I do not know the new King well he seems to have a level head on him, and while that may be an act just to gain everyone's trust I know that one who pretends to be what he is not will eventually falter and expose the truth.

"If it is just an act he will surely make a mistake soon, then we will know the truth. Until they I am content to stay within the pride." He have her a sideways glance. "I doubt that he wishes to suffer the same fate as our last king." He looked back the way her came, perhaps a bit of assurance to make sure they indeed weren't follow. Though he wasn't worried about such things he knew that if he showed a bit of concern towards it perhaps Maua would be less worried.

"The absence of a leader will do that to even the best prides. It is an internal instinct within us all, much like our survival instincts." But enough about that he told himself, he wanted to know what Maua wished. He would follow her either way, be it staying within the pride or leaving. "Now we didn't come all the way out here to discuss what the others are doing. Tell me, what do you think we should do?" Though in the back of his mind he wondered just what they would do if they left the pride. Surely they wouldn't wander about in the rogue lands. They would need to find a new pride and then work their way up the ranks, which wasn't ideal either.

Kivuli's tail flickered about as Maua spoke. At least she seemed to be less paranoid about them being followed now which allowed her to focus on the task at hand. He would have pointed out that no matter what their future held that they would always be together, but she would probably just yell at him for pointing out the obvious like that. And angering Maua was never a good thing, whether by accident or on purpose.

"Certainly it would be silly when we know not how the new King will be. If in time he shows signs that he will be like his father then perhaps leaving would be a good idea. For now I think we should stick with the pride." Their options would always be open whether they stick with this king or if another new king came along. They were nobles and they had the right to choose whether to go or stay at any time. "Should we need to leave then it would certainly mean finding a new place to live and not all prides are open to new members, especially ones who held such a high rank as we do. I would be willing to work for a higher rank in a new pride if it came down to it, but honestly why do all that work when we already hold such a rank in our current pride."

"Then it's settled. We will stay within the pride for now. Should things change for the worse then we will need to consider the possibility of leaving for certain." He had figured this would be there decision well before they came out here to speak of it. Both knew greatly of the consequences of leaving the pride. Perhaps in doing so they would be followed by their past rivals to make sure they would never return, or they would be forced to wander for a long time before hopefully settling down. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his mind, not something they needed to think about right now.

His tail flicked about playfully as he looked at her with a smile on his maw. "Now then," he began with a sparkle in his eyes. "Wasn't this supposed be a romantic walk? At least that's what we told the others right? No sense in returning to the pride without having actually gone on a romantic walk." Kivuli slinked closer to Maua, letting out a small chuckle.

"An excellent choice my dear." Rising to his feet he walked along side Maua, but was paying more attention to her beauty than where he was going. It didn't take them long to reach the ridge Maua had spotted and it was the perfect place to watch the sunset. And watching sunsets was quite romantic. Settling down on his haunches he looked over at Maua, the red light of the setting sun danced across her white fur.

Laying down beside her Kivuli rolled onto his side, and reaching out with his front paws took hold of Maua and pulled her nice and close. Nuzzling her softly and then nipped her ear playfully. "You know we won't make it back to the pride until morning at this rate." He chuckled, not that he thought she would mind. Taking time away was necessary no matter rank one held. With the sun quickly disappearing behind the horizon he held her tightly, this moment was perfect and he wouldn't let anything interrupt it.